Search the letters

The Vaughan Williams Foundation has made over 5000 items freely available: chiefly letters from Ralph Vaughan Williams, but including some responses which shed light on the subject matter, and also a number of letters from Adeline and Ursula Vaughan Williams. These provide further information and often include messages or observations from Ralph, and there are also letters from Adeline and Ursula written on behalf of the couple. The text of letters written by RVW and UVW remain the copyright of the Foundation.

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The letters are in tabular form and can be sorted by column, or filtered by any keyword including name, musical title, year or subject (singly or in combination). Partial matches will also be found, e.g. searching “sky” will also find “Stravinsky”. To search for a phrase use inverted commas, e.g. “New York”.

To search by letter number, include the prefix VWL, e.g. VWL123.

Filter letters

Letter No. Title Date Date on Letter
VWL3776 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Winser 19471107 7th. November, 1947.
VWL3775 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Headmaster [of Charterhouse] 1950---- March 30 [ca. 1950]
VWL3773 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Stich[?] 1930---- Sept 21 [1930s?]
VWL3769 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551108 November 8th 1955.
VWL3768 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19561204 December 4th 1956.
VWL3766 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551023 October 23rd 1955.
VWL3762 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19501206 6th December, 1950.
VWL3759 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19551006 October 6th, 1955.
VWL3756 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mr Pritchard 19461128 Nov 28 1946
VWL3755 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Guthrie Foote (OUP) 19490902 2nd. September, 1949.
VWL3754 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Mrs Mitchell 19461008 October 8th, 1946
VWL3753 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Dorking Madrigal Society 19481014 14th October, 1948.
VWL3752 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19490324 24th March, 1949.
VWL3751 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19491102 2nd. November, 1949.
VWL3750 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Cedric Glover 19491214 14th December, 1949.
VWL3749 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500104 4th January, 1950.
VWL3748 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500125 25th January 1950.
VWL3747 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500414 April 14 [about 1950]
VWL3746 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Winifred Cole 19500426 April 26 [1950]
VWL3745 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 19500423 April 23 [1950]
VWL3744 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1953---- 1953
VWL3743 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to William Cole 1949---- [about 1949?]
VWL3741 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alan Bush 19390907 Thursday, [7 September, 1939?]
VWL3731 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19490605 June 5 [1949]
VWL3730 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19520727 July 27th 1952.
VWL3729 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice & John Sumsion 19421023 Oct 23, [1942]
VWL3728 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to the Treasurer of the Gloucester Musical Festival 19371002 October 2, [1937]
VWL3727 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19390605 June 5, [1939]
VWL3726 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Alice Sumsion 19370920 [20 September, 1937]
VWL3725 Letter from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Stephanie Pinthus 19370126 January 26th, 1937.

You have never lost your invention but it has not developed enough.  Your best – your most original and beautiful style or ‘atmosphere’ is an indescribable sort of feeling as if one was listening to very lovely lyrical poetry.

GUSTAV HOLST letter to RVW 1903

He was one of the most 'complete' men I have ever known. He loved life, he loved work and his interest in all music was unquenchable and insatiable.

SIR JOHN BARBIROLLI, conductor

I was thunderstruck by the symphony last night - and hadn't expected to be. Jagged, pulsating and angry, from that very first clanging dissonance - how can it have come from the same source as the Tallis Fantasia?

AUDIENCE MEMBER, Newbury Festival